Mr. Speaker, I am delighted that a new Networks of Centres of Excellence of Canada, ArcticNet, has been established. This will help focus the fine polar research which is being carried out by Canadians. I am also pleased that a new research icebreaker, Amundsen , is now operational. It has begun its first scientific mission, an international study of the changing Arctic Ocean.

Projects like these bring hope to everyone interested in the polar regions.

Our thanks to the Ministers of Industry and Fisheries and Oceans, Université Laval, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and others involved with this work.

Mr. Speaker, October 23 was a momentous day for the residents of Eastern Ontario. When our new premier, Dalton McGuinty, was sworn in with his cabinet, it became clear that eastern Ontario will have a strong voice in our province's new Liberal government.

I was delighted to note that my own provincial colleague from Hastings--Frontenac--Lennox and Addington, Ms. Leona Dombrowsky, was named Minister of the Environment. A long time community activist and certainly no stranger to environmental issues, Leona has the skills, the drive and the compassion to excel in her new post.

Kingston and the Islands MPP John Gerretsen was also named to cabinet as Minister of Municipal Affairs and Minister Responsible for Seniors' Issues. John's extensive experience in municipal and provincial government and his strong record as an advocate for seniors' rights make him a natural choice for both portfolios.

On behalf of the member for Kingston and the Islands, I would like to offer Leona and John our warmest congratulations. We look forward to working with them to advance the interests of our constituents. We know they will serve them well on the government benches at Queen's Park.

Mr. Speaker, on September 20, the Armenian community of Laval celebrated both the 12th anniversary of the independence of Armenia and the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Holy Cross Armenian Apostolic Church.

I invite all members in this House to join me in commemorating these anniversaries with Canadians of Armenian origin, in my riding of Laval West and across Canada.

I also hope that the ties between Canada and Armenia will continue to develop in the years to come.

Mr. Speaker, on November 1 military families were slapped with yet another rent increase for their on base housing.

Unlike families living in civilian housing, who could face a moderate increase, because these families live on federal property the Liberals are hiking their rent by as much as 25%.

To make matters worse, the rent increases will be applied to homes built in the 1950s and 1960s that are in serious need of repair. In some cases, these homes pose a serious threat to the health of our young military families.

One of the government's own officials admits that while these homes were built to the building codes of the day, they are not up to today's building standards. However, the Liberals are making sure they meet today's standards for rental charges.

Military families have had enough. On October 14, a petition campaign was launched to help voice their objections. For those who wish to help with the protest, a copy of the petition is available at www.canadianalliance.ca.

Dr. Brockhouse won the 1994 Nobel Prize in Physics for his research conducted at the first nuclear reactors in Canada during the 1940s and 1950s. He also invented the triple axis neutron spectrometer which is still used all over the world to better understand the atomic structure of matter.

While teaching at McMaster from 1962 to 1984, Dr. Brockhouse was regarded as a brilliant professor who had high expectations for his students, but who had a humourous self-deprecation about his own achievements.

Only 10 Canadians have received Nobel prizes. Dr. Bertram Brockhouse was a remarkable Canadian, a brilliant scientist and a World War II hero.

Today, I wish to pay tribute to this remarkable man for all that he has contributed to Canada and the world in the field of physics.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge the initiative of the Conseil régional de l'environnement et du développement durable du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean and the Quebec department of transport, which have set up a car pooling service in my region in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Each year, the transportation sector generates 38% of these emissions. By reducing the number of cars on our roads, we help meet our Kyoto commitments, and in fact that is the purpose of my Bill C-400, which grants a tax credit to public transportation users.

I congratulate the Conseil régional de l'environnement et du développement durable du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean and the Quebec department of transport on their great initiative. I encourage all the people in my region to use this new car pooling service.

Mr. Speaker, today the Minister of Finance presented his economic and fiscal update and gave us some good news.

For the sixth consecutive year, Canada will not have a deficit. We will even have a surplus that will enable us to further reduce the national debt.

Despite the unexpected challenges we have had to face, such as SARS and mad cow disease, the government has set aside $2 billion of the surplus to go to health. This is very important to us, because we wish to support the first ministers' Accord on Health Care Renewal.

Hard work by Canadians and wise financial management over the past decade have made it possible to avoid a deficit once again. Canadians have every reason to be proud because this kind of accomplishment is becoming increasingly rare in the world.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to mark the publication of a history book of the Westminster Club of New Westminster, B.C., which I will file with the Library of Parliament.

This social businessman's club was founded in 1889. The publication of its history reflects the lives and times of its members, and reveals a fascinating point of view of a city's evolution, where men of commerce struggled to build a community in the isolated west that is now part of the metropolitan region known as the lower mainland of Vancouver.

When we examine our Canadian west coast history, it is too often just the political story or the abbreviated newspaper records that remain. The commercial and social history is hard to remember.

This new book tells the story of local business and social life through the records and photos of the prestigious Westminster Club, from the start as a private men's preserve to now having a woman, Karen Baker-MacGroty, as the president. She was determined to tell the story.

I wish to thank Archie and Dale Miller for their research and careful production. The Westminster Club history book will help us presently to learn of the past in order to chart a surer course into the future.

Mr. Speaker, last week the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples, chaired by Senator Thelma Chalifoux, released its final report “Urban Aboriginal Youth: An Action Plan for Change”.

The report makes 19 recommendations and outlines a concrete strategy to create opportunities for aboriginal youth in urban communities. It offers ideas for changes in the way the government delivers programs in urban centres where aboriginal youth are most disadvantaged.

The report points out that investing in education is key to improving economic and social status, and recommends extending post-secondary assistance to all aboriginal youth, including Métis and non-status Indians.

The Prime Minister's caucus task force on urban issues also addressed issues in the urban aboriginal population and I am pleased that this report complements our recommendations.

I wish to congratulate the committee on a superb report. I want to take this opportunity to reiterate the importance of working together to build a strong Canada made up of healthy communities in all regions.

Mr. Speaker, for nearly a year, I have been asking the government to recognize the Republic of Korea war service medal.

This medal was awarded to our veterans in 1951 for their heroic efforts under the UN banner in the Korean War. As this is a foreign commemorative medal, our Canadian Korean War veterans are permitted to wear this medal, but our government still does not recognize it.

The United States and New Zealand, by contrast, already recognize this award. Our veterans have asked for and deserve this recognition. I am very disappointed in the government's lack of support for this initiative, particularly given the recent 50th anniversary of the armistice.

In April 2003 I formally wrote to the minister asking for his assistance in this matter, but I have yet to receive a response. One must hope that this lack of response is not reflective of his support for our veterans.

I would urge the Minister of Veterans Affairs to take the initiative to identify the Republic of Korea war service honour as an official award rather than deny our veterans the recognition they deserve.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to speak to the House about an important and prestigious event that will take place in Alma, in my riding, on November 8. I am referring to the 17th awards gala of the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie Lac-Saint-Jean-Est, a very dynamic organization with more than 500 active members.

This ceremony will honour the businesses, organizations and individuals who have distinguished themselves in the past year in various areas: growth and dynamism, innovation, recruitment, quality, training, and access.

Proudly, I salute this wonderful initiative of our chamber of commerce and industry, and I want to express my admiration for the entrepreneurs of the Lac Saint-Jean region who, through their passion and creativity, showcase the vitality of our socio-economic environment.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the eighth anniversary of the loss of a great peacemaker.

Yitzhak Rabin was a soldier who fought for his country and grew to realize that the only solution was to become a soldier for peace. When I met him in Canada, he promised me he would continue to work toward a lasting peace.

I was honoured to nominate Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin for the Nobel Peace Prize in January 1994 and overjoyed when he was awarded that honour in December 1994. Sadly, I later had the honour of laying a wreath at his headstone after his assassination by a terrorist. He survived conflict as a warrior but died as a soldier of peace.

The world still mourns a leader whose foresight and courage led his nation away from the path of conflict and showed it the first steps toward the real road map for peace.

I would urge my fellow members to join me in commemorating the life of Yitzhak Rabin, a great statesman and a man of peace.

Mr. Speaker, when the Bloc Quebecois condemns someone for his refusal to fly the Canadian flag, it is clear that he has problems.

This weekend, the leader of the Bloc Quebecois ridiculed the former finance minister for his refusal to fly the Canadian flag on his ships in order to avoid paying Canadian taxes and wages.

That is not a good thing.

So, what flag should the new Liberal leader fly? I urge people to vote on the NDP's website, flyourflag.ca.

When one is the prime minister-in-waiting, the reluctance to abide by Canadian taxes, wages and environmental standards sets a bad example. Do as I say, but not as I do.

I ask everyone to check out the NDP's website that our Liberal friends are loving to hate. I ask everyone to visit flyourflag.ca and help the new Liberal leader choose his flag: the American flag, the Bahamas, or maybe Visa or Mastercard.

Mr. Speaker, Raymond Schryer is a violin maker par excellence. His shop is on St. Joseph Island near Sault Ste. Marie.

On October 5, 2003, a cello crafted by him won the gold medal at the Antonio Stradivari International Competition in Cremona, Italy. The medal carries with it a prize of 15,000 Euro and the honour of having the cello on permanent exhibition.

To appreciate the significance of this award, we should understand Cremona's important place in the history of violin making. This city is the birthplace of renowned violin maker Antonio Stradivari and is known worldwide as the “City of Violins”.

Raymond Schryer is the very first Canadian to win a gold medal at this very prestigious competition. It is his second international gold medal win for cello within the past year and only some of a long list of his achievements in violin making.

My colleague, the member of Parliament for Algoma--Manitoulin, joins me with enthusiasm in this tribute to Raymond Schryer for his award winning achievements.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to congratulate Saskatchewan's only enduring professional sports franchise, the Roughriders, for a very exciting 37-21 victory yesterday over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. This win leads the team and its dedicated CFL fans to the western final next Sunday against the Eskimos.

Today's headlines said the Roughriders were “Hot in the Cold”, and they were hot.

They are driven. They are dynamic. They are focused and they work as a team.

Kenton Keith, a 23 year old rookie, yesterday delivered for Saskatchewan fans by rushing for three touchdowns. The Roughriders have played exceptionally well this season, so yesterday's win was no surprise.

We will be watching for an equally strong performance this weekend in Edmonton and look forward to seeing our Roughriders play in the Grey Cup final at home in Regina on November 16.

Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully today to the fiscal update from the finance minister. He tried to minimize the government's fiscal surpluses. In fact, he says now there may not even be the money for health care.

Yet his new leader has been going around the country making spending promises, by our total somewhere in the neighbourhood of $30 billion. Could the finance minister tell the House, or better, tell the new Liberal leader where the money for his promises is going to come from?

Mr. Speaker, I think I would want to be a little more cautious than to answer a question based on some calculation that was done by the hon. Leader of the Opposition.

I have tried to certainly say that I intend to be cautious about the country's finances. I would also be cautious about any estimate that he had made of anyone's promises.

The bottom line of the update today is that the Canadian economy is doing well. We are the only G-7 country that will remain in surplus this year, outperforming the rest of the developed world. That is something Canadians should be proud of.

Mr. Speaker, I can understand why the finance minister would want to be cautious about his new leader's spending promises. We have seen this script before, a new leader hits the campaign trail and makes all kinds of promises, and then he gets elected and promptly says there is no money for his promises.

This is a new twist. Is the finance minister telling the new Liberal leader there is no money for his promises even before he takes office?

As I said, we are able to project for this year a $2.3 billion surplus, after having dealt with a variety of issues that have affected the well-being of Canadians; SARS, the effect of BSE, the various calamities that have befallen us and required us to expend money under the DFAA, the forest fires, the hurricane, the significant additional expenditures that we have incurred in order to support our mission to Afghanistan. Ten years ago a Canadian economy hit by this number of things would have been flat on its back.

Mr. Speaker, this morning, I delivered an economic update that is great news for the Canadian economy and indicates that Canada will, again this year, experience economic growth of nearly 2%, and 3% the following year. We have a balanced budget. We are the only G-7 country to have a balanced budget. That is extremely good news.

When a new government takes over, it will have great latitude in making decisions about the priorities of Canadians.

Mr. Speaker, we are different from the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party. We respect our commitments. This morning, we said if there were a federal surplus, the first place it would go would be to the provinces, for health care.

If we can confirm that there will not be a deficit, we will pay out the $2 billion set out in the health accord.

Mr. Speaker, unlike the current Minister of Finance, I actually kept my promise to complete a leadership contest. The current minister is part of a government that broke its word on the GST, free trade, the helicopter contracts, the Pearson airport contract, every major promise the government made, so I will take no lessons from that man or anyone else about breaking promises.

There is a need for stability among the provinces for the equalization formula that will be negotiated and probably broken by the minister. How can the current Minister of Finance justify cutting transfer payments to the provinces and territories by over $10 billion in the next five years?